In general I like the look of the games in development. While I was hoping for a remake of the Jugdral games, Genealogy of the Holy War and Thracia 776, seeing a remake of the often-forgotten and highly experimental Fire Emblem Gaiden is a treat. I never got around to playing a lot of the older titles and had always hoped that Nintendo would get around to remaking these games sort of like their maligned Shadow Dragon, though the mysterious absence of Mystery of the Emblem is still a bit disappointing. Despite this, I'm excited to be able to play an official translation of Gaiden, even if it is on the 3DS system.
Also coming to the 3DS, though only on the newer models, is a new Musou entry in the series. I'd actually been hopeful for this ever since seeing a piece of fan art a few years ago, which I'll link here:
Musou gameplay makes perfect sense for Fire Emblem, so seeing this game actually being released is a dream come true. I'm a little disappointed that the gameplay looks almost identical to Hyrule Warriors, but truth be told I loved that game so I'm not so upset. What is upsetting, though, is the fact that this makes for three Warriors games--Berserk, Fire Emblem, and Dragon Quest Heroes--to contend with this year alone. I don't think there's actually enough time to approach all three, so we'll have to see where that goes.
I don't have much to say about the other two announcements, but I will say that I can see playing the new mobile Fire Emblem game and enjoying it. The gameplay is much simplified, but I didn't really expect something on the scale of Path of Radiance or anything. It looks fun on the go and I see no faults in it. And what is there to really say about the upcoming Switch game other than "it should be a 2017 release?" Maybe that would clog up the year with too much of the series, though.
I do wish Nintendo would slow down a bit on these games. I get that it's excited for the series to finally take off in the West, but I don't know that releasing four games over the course of a year is the way to go about it. Furthermore, the recent presentation of Fire Emblem has been a bit troubling, as I detailed in my "top games of 2016" list and why Fates, with its strange romance simulations and eugenics systems, didn't really do it for me. Fire Emblem can't be all that cheap to make, right? I mean with all the details and challenges, it has to be a real budget and time sink--right?
I'm not so sure about that anymore. Specifically, after seeing Fire Emblem Echoes announced so quickly after Fates when the series had been dormant for so long, complete with the same models as the previous game and still images for cutscenes. I get that the 3DS was probably much cheaper to develop for than other consoles out, especially given that it can barely push out PS2-level graphics, but the absence of Fire Emblem Echoes on the Switch has me seriously concerned.
The thesis of the Switch, at least the one I assumed since its official unveiling, was a combined ecosystem for Nintendo to focus its IPs free of multiple SKUs and uncomfortable mandatory handheld games. I had hoped before that the Switch would at least have been compatible with 3DS carts before its announcement with the hopes that I could finally play games like Dragon Quest VII/VIII, Monster Hunter and Shin Megami Tensei IV on my television, free from the constraints of the actual 3DS. What I'm seeing instead is that the Switch is merely a portable replacement for the Wii U.
Nothing exemplifies this point more than the second bullet point for Fire Emblem Warriors: Aside from the Switch, the game will also release, much like Hyrule Warriors Legends, on the 3DS. Never mind the fact that this is going to be a completely inferior way to play the game in every way, what I'm really scratching my head over is Nintendo completely skipping the Wii U, as if putting the figurative nail in the console's long-existing coffin. I understand why Breath of the Wild is releasing on the Wii U and I don't fault them in a 3DS version for Warriors, but wasn't the Switch supposed to be an upgrade from both currently existing Nintendo units?
What exactly is going on here? This entire time I was under the assumption that the cheap games, the titles which had until now been pushed on the 3DS for cost-cutting purposes, would just be thrown on the Switch with warts and all. I don't mind playing an ugly Monster Hunter so long as I can finally do so on my television with a controller that doesn't break my stupid hands, but the fact that the 3DS will continue to live on, despite the death of the Wii U, is starting to give me second thoughts about this whole hybrid system. If budget games like Fire Emblem Echoes will be arriving on the 3DS and skipping the then-newly recently Switch, then who's to say Nintendo intends to abandon the 3DS at all?
I get it. The 3DS is immensely popular worldwide, still topping sales charts consistently even despite its weak hardware. Of course Nintendo wants to capitalize on the market, but for how long? Before this Direct I was sure all of Nintendo's new games would be making it to the Switch before the 3DS was quietly tucked away, but now I can't shake the feeling Nintendo is about to pump out a portable Wii U. All I want out of this thing is to finally be able to set aside my mountain of ever-growing handheld systems and consolidate my games list, but Nintendo seems determined to make me second-guess myself less than two months before their new console even has a chance to prove itself. Time will tell, but the future doesn't look so bright to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment